“The Power Of Words And The Wonder Of God” at Acts 29 Louisville Boot Camp

Tuesday and Wednesday,Sojourn is hosting Ambition, the last Acts 29 Network church planting “Boot Camp” of 2009.  Our good friends at Crossway Books, a fantastic publisher, have donated their book, The Power Of Words and the Wonder of God, to each of the 400 guests coming to this sold-out conference.

Edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor, this is a collection of essays about the importance of words.  As Justin says in the introduction:

What do words have to do with Christianity?  Almost everything.  At every stage in redemptive history — from the time before time, to God’s creation, to man’s fall, to Christ’s redemption, and to the coming consummation — “God is there and he is not silent.”

You should buy this book.  Unless you’re among the hundreds who registered for Ambition in time, in which case, don’t forget to take it with you when you go.

Perhaps my favorite part is an essay from one of my favorite bloggers, authors and worship ministers, Bob Kauflin. He writes of the relationship between words and music.  He argues that music must serve the word, rather than undermine or supersede it.  From there he shows the importance of singing in our shared faith.  Through song, we engage emotionally with words of truth and we train ourselves to use words as an expression of unity.

Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll contributes a colorful, prophetic chapter.  Using the “shepherd” metaphor for pastors, he says that the four functions of a shepherd should be:

• Feed the sheep
• Rebuke the swine
• Shoot the wolves
• Beat the dogs

You want to read it to find out the implications, don’t you?  Do it.

You’ll also learn from essays by John Piper, Paul David Tripp, Sinclair B. Ferguson and Daniel Taylor. Then our editors close the book with two appendices: each a conversation with two or three of the book’s contributors.  They ask questions like

• “How would you counsel people to become more creative and to cultivate their imagination in a God-centered way”
• “How do you give words of encouragement in a way that’s not flattering to other people?”

If you care about words — as God commands of us — then this is a wonderful (and fairly short) book to own, to read, to meditate upon and discuss with your friends, family, community group and ministry partners. Check it out here.